


Moving On

by telperion_15



Series: Replacement [2]
Category: Primeval
Genre: Angst, Community: help_haiti, Developing Relationship, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Moving On, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-21
Updated: 2012-03-21
Packaged: 2017-11-02 07:59:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/366766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/telperion_15/pseuds/telperion_15
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After an untimely reminder of the past, Danny wonders if Connor will ever be ready to move on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Moving On

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for fififolle for the help_haiti auction, for the prompt 'a post-bad day scene where Danny realises that Connor really cares about *him* now' as a sequel to [Replacement Therapy](http://archiveofourown.org/works/366754).
> 
> Spoilers for episodes 2.05, 2.07, 3.03, 3.04 and 3.05.

  
Danny extracted a fresh shirt and pair of jeans from his locker and then closed it firmly, resting his forehead against the cool metal.  
  
He knew he and his clean clothes should be heading for the showers – he still felt like he had sand in all sorts of unfortunate places – but his energy was rapidly draining away, and right now even the shower block seemed like too much of a trek.  
  
Not that standing up propped against a bank of lockers was doing him any more good, but he just needed a moment to gather himself before making any further physical efforts.  
  
Unwillingly, his mind drifted back to the events of the day. To the anomaly that led to the Silurian that wasn’t new to Jenny, Abby, or Connor, even if it was to Danny and Becker. To the vast sandy wasteland on the other side of the sparkling shards, broken only by the occasional rocky outcropping, and entirely devoid of life. To the fucking _huge_ scorpion-bug things that had appeared only seconds after Connor finished explaining that ‘entirely devoid’ wasn’t actually a strictly accurate description. And to the young girl who had come bouncing up to them after they’d all tumbled back into the present – dirty, breathless, but happily still very much alive.  
  
 _“Hey, it’s you lot again. Hello!”_  
  
She’d peered past them at the anomaly.  
  
 _“Don’t tell me you were stupid enough to go through that again?”_  
  
And then she’d spied Danny and Becker and narrowed her eyes suspiciously.  
  
 _“Who are you, then? And where are the other two? The Scottish one and his mate?”_  
  
She hadn’t known. Of course she’d hadn’t. Jenny had taken her aside at that point and spoken to her quietly for a few moments. It had surprised them all when the girl – Taylor Crane, Abby informed Danny and Becker – had suddenly burst into tears and flung her arms round Jenny’s neck for a hug. Danny had very pointedly busied himself collecting up equipment at that point, Becker following suit.  
  
“Danny? Are you all right?” Jenny’s voice intruded into his thoughts, sounding both concerned and amused. He nodded against the locker door, but her follow up question of, “Are you sure?” made him realise that he probably wasn’t doing a very good job of convincing her.  
  
He turned so his back was resting against the lockers instead, and nodded again. “Fine,” he said. “Just knackered, I suppose.”  
  
Jenny nodded thoughtfully in return. “You look it,” she said bluntly.  
  
“Oh, thanks very much!” Danny forced a laugh. “Don’t soften the blow or anything, will you?”  
  
Jenny smiled in apology. “Sorry. But it’s not like we haven’t had a tough day.”  
  
“And you missed out on the running on the sand and battling giant scorpions part of it,” Danny reminded her.  
  
“Fair point. Although I have to admit I wasn’t expecting Taylor to turn up like that.” She sighed. “I suppose we should have expected it, though. I asked her on the way back to her step-dad’s flat, and she said she’d been keeping an eye out for us. She still wants to work on the anomaly project when she grows up, like Ni…like Cutter said she could.”  
  
“He must have made quite an impression on her, the professor,” Danny offered.  
  
“I think he did,” Jenny agreed. “Which is odd, because he never particularly struck me as being that fond of kids.”  
  
They shared a brief smile, and then Jenny sobered. “That kind of leads me to why I’m here, actually,” she said.  
  
“Oh yes?” Danny enquired. “So you weren’t just wanting to ask after my well-being, then?”  
  
“Well, not _just_ that. It’s Connor,” Jenny continued. “I was hoping you might have a chat with him.”  
  
And there was the other reason for Danny’s heavy limbs, and heavier heart. He couldn’t forget the look on Connor’s face at the moment Taylor had asked about Cutter. The look of remembrance as the kid’s blithe question had dragged up everything the young man thought he’d been trying to forget again.  
  
Danny had thought things between them were sorting themselves out. Even progressing. They were both trying to put behind them the rather inauspicious start to their relationship, and Danny had hoped it was working.  
  
He still felt guilty about the way he’d taken advantage of Connor’s grief in the aftermath of Cutter’s death, even though Connor still maintained that it had taken two to tango, as the saying went, and that he was therefore just as much in the wrong as Danny.  
  
But he’d also felt that their fresh start had been having some effect, and that they had a solid friendship now that might, just _might_ be on its way to something more someday.  
  
But that idea had taken rather a knock when he’d seen the expression on Connor’s face earlier in the day, and the way Abby had put a comforting arm around his shoulders as he watched Taylor and Jenny talking.  
  
Connor still wasn’t over Cutter, and quite possibly never entirely would be. And while Danny was happy – more than happy – to be there for him as a friend, today’s events only confirmed that he needed to get his head out of clouds, and stop wishing for something that wasn’t going to happen. Friends were all they’d ever be, and he needed to accept that.  
  
Then something occurred to him. “Can’t Abby talk to him?” he asked hopefully, seizing on the idea gratefully.  
  
“She’s already tried,” Jenny replied. “Didn’t get much out of him, apparently. But I’m hoping he might open up to you a bit. You seem to have become good friends, and he looks up to you, I think.”  
  
“Oh god, don’t say things like that.” The words slipped out before Danny could stop them, and Jenny raised her eyebrows questioningly. “I just don’t need that kind of pressure, that’s all,” he added quickly. “I really don’t want to be the authority figure round here.”  
  
“You are the team leader,” Jenny pointed out, a smile tugging at her lips.  
  
“That just means that I get to be the one charging in first, all guns blazing,” Danny joked. “Let someone else be the voice of reason, and the one people look up to.”  
  
Jenny rolled her eyes, and then looked at Danny seriously again. “So, will you talk to Connor or not?” she asked.  
  
Danny sighed, admitting defeat. “Of course I will,” he said. “If you think it will help.”  
  
“I do,” Jenny confirmed. “Thanks, Danny.”  
  
“Don’t mention it.” Danny mentally steeled himself for the task ahead. “Happy to be of assistance.”  
  
*   *   *   *   *  
  
Connor was curled up on one of the sofas in the rec room, a cup of coffee in his hands that Danny suspected had probably gone cold a while ago, if the young man’s absent look was anything to go by. Danny watched him from the doorway for a few moments, but Connor didn’t show any awareness of his presence, and he briefly entertained the idea of running away before he _was_ noticed.  
  
But that would make him a coward, and one thing Danny Quinn wasn’t was a coward. He took a deep breath, and stepped into the room.  
  
“All right, mate? That was a bit of a day, wasn’t it?”  
  
Connor’s only reaction was a flinch, small but noticeable, and Danny kicked himself for his tactlessness.  
  
 _Well done, Danny-boy. Why don’t you just stick both feet in your mouth and have done with it?_  
  
“Can I get you a fresh one of those?” he asked, nodding towards Connor’s cold coffee.  
  
Connor stirred and looked down, as if only just realising he was holding the mug. “What? Oh, no thanks. I probably wouldn’t drink that one either, and it’d only be a waste.”  
  
Danny abandoned his plan of trying to jolly Connor out of his melancholy with normality. It obviously wasn’t going to work, and besides, he suspected that wasn’t quite what Jenny had had in mind when she’d asked him to ‘talk’ to Connor.  
  
Instead, he sat down at the other end of the sofa Connor was occupying, and tried out his best sympathetic expression. “Look, mate, if you want to talk or anything…” he began awkwardly.  
  
“Taylor’s a good kid,” Connor said abruptly.  
  
“What?” said Danny, thrown off balance a little. “Oh, yes, I suppose she is.”  
  
“I mean, I didn’t really get to know her much the last time around, but she seemed to be get on well with Stephen and Cutter, and that speaks volumes.”  
  
“That’s funny, because Jenny said something pretty similar – about Cutter not being that fond of kids in general.”  
  
Connor smiled slightly, only a tiny quirk of his lips, but Danny counted it a victory. “I don’t think he was,” the young man confided. “Although I don’t really know. It certainly took him a while to warm to me.” The smile transformed into a small frown. “There was a lot I didn’t know about him really. The anomalies take over your life, and there never really seems to be time to get into details. But you always think you’ll have time later.”  
  
Danny wanted to reach out a comforting hand, but he wasn’t sure how well such a gesture would be received. So he remained still, and waited to see if Connor would continue.  
  
He did, but not in exactly the direction Danny had been expecting.  
  
“Which is why,” Connor said, “I want to get to know you better.” He looked up at Danny suddenly. “I don’t want the same regrets all over again.”  
  
“I…okay,” Danny said slowly. “Sharing life stories, I can do that. Where would you like me to start?”  
  
“I don’t think you’re understanding me properly,” said Connor. “What I mean is I don’t want to regret not doing things properly all over again, or passing up an opportunity I should have taken.  
  
Suddenly it was Connor reaching out, his hand settling on Danny’s knee in an unmistakeable gesture. “I’m ready,” he said clearly.  
  
“Oh. _Oh._ ” Danny felt like he was floundering. Of all the outcomes he’d been expecting, this hadn’t been one of them. _This_ was the very thing he’d almost given up on. He was surprised at the sudden turn of events, to say the least.  
  
“Look, Connor,” he said, a tad uncertainly. “Perhaps we shouldn’t rush into things. We didn’t exactly make a success of it last time, after all.” Behind his words was the inescapable thought that Connor was simply looking for a way to bury his grief again, after being reminded of it so forcibly today. And Danny was determined that neither of them should fall into that trap again.  
  
Connor gave him a look that said he knew exactly what Danny was thinking. “Things are different now,” he said seriously. “I’m different. And I know what I want.”  
  
“Okay, just wait a minute.” Gently, but firmly, Danny removed Connor’s hand from his knee, trying to ignore the disappointed expression that appeared on the young man’s face at the action. “This is a lot to take in, Connor, and I don’t mind saying that you’ve blindsided me a little here…”  
  
“I thought this was what you wanted too,” Connor said quietly.  
  
“Oh, I…” Danny cut himself off, and then smiled reassuringly at Connor. “Look, like I said before, we’ve had a bit of a day, and neither of us is in the best state right now.” He looked pointedly at the still full mug Connor was holding. “I bet you haven’t had any other sustenance apart from a sip of that since we got back, have you?”  
  
Connor looked faintly miffed by the nursemaiding, but a grumble from his stomach put paid to any denials he might have made, and he shook his head ruefully.  
  
“Right, well, if you can hang on a bit longer while I take a shower and get all this sand out of my hair, how about we go down the pub and get something to eat and a drink, yeah? And maybe we can talk a bit more as well.”  
  
“Yeah, okay.” Connor nodded.  
  
“Great. Give me ten minutes, and we’ll be set to go.”  
  
*   *   *   *   *  
  
It was actually more like twenty minutes by the time Danny found Connor again. He’d spun his shower out a bit, in order to enjoy the hot water, and to give himself time to get his head together.  
  
Connor had rather thrown him for a loop. He’d expected to be offering a shoulder to cry on, not resisting the younger man’s advances again. Although he couldn’t deny that Connor had seemed remarkably clear-headed when he was making his declarations, and he hadn’t made any moves of the kind that had got them both into so much trouble originally.  
  
Still, no matter what his own feelings on the subject were, he was determined to do what was best for Connor. It certainly wasn’t a coincidence that he’d brought this up on today of all days, and Danny still doubted his motivations a little. Connor said he was sure about what he wanted, but Danny needed to be sure on that point too before he’d allow the other man to hurt himself again.  
  
Connor had transferred himself from the rec room to his lab by the time Danny was done, and it took a loud knock on the doorframe to drag Connor’s attention away from whatever he was doing.  
  
“Not interrupting, am I?” he asked, with a slight smile.  
  
“No,” Connor replied, smiling back. “I was just copying some of the photos from the Silurian on to my computer while I waited for you. And using the time to think a bit as well, I suppose.”  
  
“Do you need to stay until the copying is done?” said Danny. “I don’t mind waiting, although I still reckon you need some food in you sooner rather than later.”  
  
Connor shook his head. “No, it’s fine to run on it’s own. I’ll just look in on Abby as we go past and ask her to disconnect the camera when it’s finished.” He stood. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”  
  
*   *   *   *   *  
  
“There you are, get that down you.”  
  
Danny plonked a plate of sausage and mash on the table in front of Connor, and then set about seasoning his own plate of fish and chips liberally with salt and vinegar. The pub’s food was nothing fancy, but there was plenty of it, and the chef in the kitchen obviously knew his business.  
  
Connor immediately tucked into his food enthusiastically, only noticing Danny watching him in amusement after the first few mouthfuls had gone down in double-quick time. He shrugged sheepishly. “Turns out I was hungrier than I thought,” he admitted.  
  
“Oh, don’t let me stop you,” Danny said. “But I warn you, my Heimlich manoeuvre isn’t up to much.”  
  
Connor grinned at him around a mouthful of mashed potato, and then went back to his dinner. Danny shook his head fondly and started on his chips, silence falling between them for a short time as both men concentrated on their food.  
  
When both plates were clean, Danny sat back with a satisfied noise, taking a slurp of his beer while Connor sipped at his coke. “That’s better. I needed that.” He chucked a napkin at Connor. “You’ve got some baked beans on your waistcoat, sunshine.”  
  
Connor flushed slightly, and hastily wiped the beans away, scrubbing rather ineffectually at the remaining stain. After a few seconds he shrugged and gave up, balling up the napkin and tossing it on his plate. Then he turned his attention back to Danny, and fixed him with a serious look.  
  
“So, are we going to talk, then?”  
  
The direct approach took Danny a little by surprise, although upon reflection, it probably shouldn’t have done. Far from confusing and upsetting Connor, the day’s events seemed to have made him very certain of himself.  
  
Danny only wished he could be as sure about what was happening.  
  
“What would you say,” he began slowly, “if I was tell you that all I wanted to do this evening was stay in the pub, have a few more drinks, and maybe a game of pool, with a mate, and then go home to my own bed at the end of it? To _sleep_ ,” he added pointedly.  
  
The expression on Connor’s face was almost comical. He obviously hadn’t considered that fact that Danny might not actually want the same things that he did. Then the younger man’s expression settled into something more thoughtful, and Danny held his breath as he waited to hear what the answer to his question would be.  
  
“It would be fine,” said Connor eventually. “Of course. Like you said before, there’s no rush.” He sighed. “I’m sorry if you felt like I was pushing. I just wanted you to know how I felt, that’s all. And to know that I’m not just trying to hide again.”  
  
Danny resisted the urge to reach out and pat Connor on the shoulder comfortingly – he looked rather woebegone, but also determined to prove his point, and Danny suddenly felt a bit bad for giving him the wrong impression.  
  
He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Sorry, that wasn’t really fair of me.”  
  
Connor looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”  
  
“Let’s just say that you passed my little test, okay?”  
  
Comprehension dawned. “You’re right, that wasn’t really fair,” Connor said. “But I understand why you did it.”  
  
“I just wanted to make sure we were both doing this for the right reasons.”  
  
“And are we?”  
  
Danny hesitated for a moment, and then smiled slowly. “I think so.”  
  
Connor’s huge grin made Danny sure he’d done the right thing. But he frowned when Connor stood up suddenly.  
  
“Where do you think you’re going?”  
  
“To get some more drinks. And then maybe we could have that game of pool? Although I doubt I’ll make you a very good opponent…”  
  
“Connor, that situation was only a hypothetical one. You don’t have to…”  
  
“I want to,” Connor interrupted him firmly. “I mean it earlier when I said I wanted to get to know you better. I want to get to know the Danny Quinn who doesn’t chase dinosaurs in helicopters, and fight off mutant mushrooms with a flame thrower and a fire extinguisher.” He smiled mischievously. “And in return, I’ll bore you to death with my chatter about computer games and Star Trek.”  
  
Danny rolled his eyes and groaned theatrically. “No, save me, anything but that.”  
  
“Too late now. Your fate is sealed. Now, can I get you another or not?”  
  
*   *   *   *   *  
  
Connor clambered gracelessly off the back of the motorbike, pulled off his helmet, and then stumbled as his legs wobbled. “Okay, you’re never getting me on that thing again. You drive like a maniac!”  
  
Danny grinned as he took his own helmet off and dismounted much more smoothly. “Actually, I was driving quite sedately, Connor.”  
  
“I was in fear for my bloody life!”  
  
“Strangely enough, I could tell that by the death grip you had around my middle.”  
  
Connor blushed suddenly, and looked away. “Sorry,” he muttered.  
  
“Hey, it’s okay, I don’t mind. And next time I promise I’ll let you take a taxi. Deal?”  
  
“Deal.” Connor nodded. Then he frowned, only just noticing what would have been blindingly obvious to him several moments earlier if he hadn’t been complaining about the bike so much. “Hey, this isn’t Lester’s building.”  
  
“A for observation,” Danny remarked dryly. “No, this is my house.”  
  
“Your house?” Connor looked confused. “What are we doing here?”  
  
“Well, firstly, I _live_ here,” Danny pointed out. “And secondly, I was hoping you might want to come in for a coffee or something. Although if you don’t I can easily take you home.”  
  
Connor looked momentarily panicked at the thought of getting back on the motorbike, and then the confusion was back again. “Are you sure? We don’t have to…”  
  
“Of course I’m sure,” Danny said firmly. “Now, do you want to or not? Because it’s bloody freezing out here, so you either need to get a shift on up the path, or put that helmet back on.”  
  
Glancing at the helmet in his hands, Connor seemed to come to a rapid decision. “Coffee sounds great,” he said, and grinned.  
  
“Good. Come on, then.”  
  
Danny’s house was small but, as he liked to think of it, perfectly formed. It had everything he needed – living room and kitchen downstairs, bedroom and bathroom upstairs. But as he followed Connor into the living room, he found himself anxiously watching Connor to see if the younger man would like it.  
  
It certainly didn’t seem as if he _disliked_ it. He placed the helmet on the small table set against the back wall of the room, shrugged off his coat and draped it over the back of one of the accompanying chairs, and then turned back to look at Danny.  
  
“Danny?”  
  
“What?”  
  
Connor smiled. “Coffee?”  
  
“What? Oh yeah, sorry.”  
  
Danny headed into the kitchen, resisting the urge to smack himself on the forehead, and busied himself with the coffee. What the hell was the matter with him? This was no time to turn into insecure idiot.  
  
Coffee made, Danny carried the mugs back to the living room to find Connor ensconced at one end of the sofa, idly flicking through a copy of _Motorcycling Monthly_ that Danny had yet to find time to read himself. But when he saw Danny he dropped the magazine back on the pile of similarly unread publications, and accepted his coffee gratefully.  
  
“I was just starting to wish I’d actually drunk that cup from earlier,” Connor said. “You’re a life saver.”  
  
“I wouldn’t say that until you’ve tasted my coffee,” Danny joked, sitting down at the other end of the sofa, and resting his foot on the edge of the coffee table, in the groove that he’d worn down by doing the same thing many times before.  
  
Connor raised an eyebrow at that, and took a cautious sip. “Well, it’s no Starbucks, but it’ll do,” he proclaimed, after a moment’s pause.  
  
“Thanks,” replied Danny wryly.  
  
“It’s got caffeine in it, and that’s all that matters,” Connor told him, taking another mouthful.  
  
From there the conversation moved into a friendly debate about which was better – Starbucks or Costa, and then digressed on to Danny’s fondness for motorbikes, something that Connor still professed not to understand.  
  
“The thing’s a death trap!”  
  
“You sound like my mother,” Danny grumbled good-naturedly.  
  
“So? What’s wrong with a nice safe car?”  
  
“Why do you like dinosaurs, Connor?”  
  
“What?” Connor looked nonplussed by the non sequitur.  
  
“Why do you like dinosaurs?” Danny repeated.  
  
“Well, because they’re interesting, and fascinating, and I find it amazing to think that there were all these fantastic creatures roaming the earth before human beings even existed.”  
  
“And you still think that now that they try to eat you on a regular basis?”  
  
“Well, yes, of course I do.”  
  
“Well, it’s the same with me and motorbikes,” said Danny simply. “They might be dangerous – hell, I’ve taken a couple of spills myself – but that’s not going to stop me from riding one. I love it too much.”  
  
Connor looked like he was thinking hard about that. “Okay, I guess I see where you’re coming from,” he said eventually. Then he grinned. “Doesn’t mean I’m ever going to get on the back of one again though!”  
  
Danny chuckled. “Fair enough. You tried it once – that’s all I can ask.”  
  
Lifting his mug, Danny swallowed his last mouthful of coffee, and then it down on the table on front of him. Connor had finished his some minutes before, and thus there were no obstacles when Danny leaned over suddenly and kissed him.  
  
The angle was awkward, Connor was surprised, and the kiss only lasted a few seconds before Danny backed off suddenly. They looked at each other uncomfortably for a moment, and then Danny stumbled out a halting apology.  
  
“God, Connor, I’m sorry. I should have given you some warning or something…”  
  
“No, honestly, it’s fine. I think inviting me in for coffee was enough warning, don’t you? I just wasn’t quite expecting it right then…”  
  
They stared awkwardly at each other for a few more seconds, and then, all at once, Danny started to laugh. He couldn’t help it – it was bubbling out of him uncontrollably, leaving him leaning weakly against the sofa cushions for support.  
  
“What’s the matter with you?” Connor asked, looking put out, and a little hurt, by Danny’s sudden hilarity.  
  
“Well, look at the pair of us,” Danny replied, between chuckles. “We’re acting like two teenagers on a first date.” He looked at Connor as his laughter died away. “This isn’t exactly the first time we’ve done anything like this.”  
  
“I don’t think any of that qualifies as a date,” Connor said flatly. “And besides, this is different.” His face suddenly took on an anxious cast. “Isn’t it?”  
  
“Oh, Connor.” Danny reached out and pulled the younger man roughly into his arms. “Of course it is, you idiot,” he said fondly into Connor’s hair. “There’s a world of difference.”  
  
He suddenly realised that all Connor’s bravado was masking a hell of a lot of emotion. He might be sure about what he wanted when it came to Danny, but that didn’t mean that at least part of him wasn’t still grieving. He tightened his hold on the younger man slightly, and pressed a kiss to the top of his head.  
  
Almost as if he could sense what Danny was thinking, Connor shifted suddenly, and then Danny felt lips against his jaw line.  
  
“You’d better not be having second thoughts,” Connor mumbled, in between kisses. “I won’t break, you know.”  
  
Danny drew away a little so he could look down into Connor’s eyes. “I know,” he said, privately thinking that he didn’t think he’d ever met anyone as strong as Connor Temple. “But that doesn’t mean we have to go rushing in where angels fear to tread, does it? Let’s just take things a bit slowly and see what happens, yeah?”  
  
“Okay.” Connor sighed, looking a bit disappointed. “Maybe you’d better call me that taxi then.”  
  
It took Danny a couple of seconds to catch up. “Oh hell, I didn’t mean that,” he said quickly. “I don’t want you to go.” He stood up and held out his hand. “Come upstairs with me?”  
  
Connor looked surprised for a second, and then smiled brilliantly as he took the proffered hand. “Okay.”  
  
*   *   *   *   *  
  
Watching Connor taking his clothes off, almost shyly, it suddenly occurred to Danny that he’d never seen him naked. Their previous ‘relationship’ hadn’t afforded many opportunities for getting undressed, speed being the order of the day rather than finesse.  
  
So he took the chance now to look his fill, as waistcoat, t-shirt, and even the ubiquitous gloves, were peeled off to reveal pale skin and a slim frame.  
  
“Danny? You’re staring.”  
  
“What? Oh, sorry,” Danny replied, not sorry in the least. He walked over to Connor, settling his hands on the younger man’s shoulders so he could pull him into a kiss. “I found I had something to stare _at_ ,” he murmured against Connor’s lips.  
  
“I’m flattered,” Connor said, although he was blushing a little. “So, are you going to return the favour then?”  
  
“You bet.”  
  
He felt Connor’s eyes on him as he started to strip off his own clothing, and unaccountably started to feel a little self-conscious himself. He wasn’t in bad shape, but he also wasn’t kidding himself about his assets – he was no male model, that was for sure.  
  
But when he looked up after discarding his jeans and socks, and saw the appreciative look on Connor’s face, he started to feel a bit better. An expression like that could do wonders for a man’s ego.  
  
“Now who’s lagging behind?” he challenged jokingly, seeing that Connor had yet to remove his own trousers and footwear.  
  
“Oh, yeah, right.” Connor quickly toed off his shoes, and then bent to pull off his socks before his hands started fumbling at his belt fastening. Danny quickly stepped forward again, placing his own hands over Connor’s and stilling them.  
  
“Let me.”  
  
Slowly he popped the button and slid the zipper down, pushing the trousers down over Connor’s hips, and then letting them drop to his ankles so Connor could step out of them and kick them away. Then he dragged Connor in for another kiss, putting a little bit more heat into it this time and pressing his body more firmly against Connor’s.  
  
Connor looked good when he’d been well kissed, Danny decided as he drew back. Another unfortunate circumstance of their past encounters had been a tendency towards locations with lower light levels, and now he was looking forward to actually being able to _see_ all of Connor’s reactions.  
  
With Connor still looking somewhat glassy-eyed, Danny quickly slithered out of his boxers, the last thing he was wearing, and settled himself on the bed, patting the mattress invitingly.  
  
Connor didn’t react for a moment, igniting a little spark of worry inside Danny, then he too shed his underwear, and slid on to the bed next to Danny.  
  
“Tell me if this is going too fast,” said Danny, struggling to extinguish the worry.  
  
For an answer, Connor simply reached over and pulled Danny to him, planting a kiss on his lips fiery enough to obliterate the spark altogether.  
  
Danny shifted himself, rolling over so he was blanketing Connor’s body with his own, one hand tangling in dark hair while the other slid down to grip Connor’s hip.  
  
He could feel Connor’s cock hardening, and his own responded eagerly. Connor broke off the kiss to let out a breathless gasp when another slight shift in position created some rather interesting friction.  
  
Danny grinned speculatively and moved again, this time on purpose, enjoying the way Connor’s eyelids fluttered shut as he moaned more loudly this time, only to open them again to reveal pupils blown so wide as to make his eyes look almost black.  
  
Then it was his turn to groan as Connor hands settled on his buttocks and pulled their bodies even closer together. He dropped his head on to Connor’s shoulder, burying his face in the crook of Connor’s neck. “Christ, Connor.”  
  
Connor’s laugh sounded more than a little desperate, and Danny tried to pull himself together enough to coordinate himself with Connor as the younger man arched up against him.  
  
He could feel his cock sliding along the length of Connor’s, the sensation sending sparks racing through all his nerve endings, and he tried to keep his movements slow and smooth, despite Connor’s exhortations to go faster.  
  
“I told you we were going to take things slowly,” Danny admonished him. “I want us to take our time for once. We’re in no rush.”  
  
Still, he couldn’t help but thrust a little harder as Connor whimpered at his words. He wanted to make this last, he really did. He wanted to prove to both of them that things were different now, that they didn’t have to be frantic and in a hurry.  
  
But Connor writhing around beneath him was doing his self-control no good at all, and with an effort of will he halted his movements suddenly, drawing a disappointed whine and a pout from Connor.  
  
“Connor, please,” said Danny, in a low voice that shook with the effort of keeping it steady. “Let me do this my way, yeah? Let me make you feel good.”  
  
Connor looked up at him with wide eyes for a few seconds, before nodding quickly. Danny smiled and kissed him, his lips moving from Connor’s mouth across his jaw and down his throat, sucking at the soft skin there as he started to thrust slowly again against the lean body underneath him.  
  
He could hear the little gasping hitches in Connor’s breath, and feel the abortive twitches of his hips as he fought to stay still and let Danny call the shots. The only part of Connor that was really moving were his hands, wandering restlessly across Danny’s body, mapping all the curves and contours.  
  
It was like sweet torture, Connor’s cock sliding slowly against his, the taste of Connor on his lips, the noises Connor made as his self-control gradually started to slip again.  
  
“Connor…” He thrust a little harder, his own control now fraying around the edges.  
  
“Danny…Danny…oh g…”  
  
Connor’s words trailed away into a low wail as he came, fingers digging into Danny’s skin hard enough to bruise, and his body trembling like a leaf in a storm.  
  
The feeling of Connor’s cock jerking against his was enough, and Danny buried his face in Connor’s neck again as his own climax hit him, his come mingling with Connor’s on their bellies as he groaned hoarsely.  
  
He lay there for a moment, revelling in the afterglow, until eventually practical concerns induced him to move, with the aim of rising from the bed and heading to the bathroom for a cloth.  
  
But Connor’s arms immediately tightened their grip around him, the action accompanied by a muttered, “Don’t go.”  
  
“I’m not going far,” Danny promised him. “Just to the…”  
  
“Don’t go,” Connor repeated. “Stay. Just for a bit longer.”  
  
Danny raised his head enough so that he look down into Connor’s face, trying to decide if he had imagined the pleading he’d heard in Connor’s voice. “Something the matter?” he asked lightly.  
  
Connor smiled, a little anxiously, Danny thought. “No, not at all. Just…this is nice. Can’t we just stay like, for a bit?”  
  
“Of course.” Shifting to the side a bit, Danny gathered Connor into his arms, dropping a kiss on his forehead as he did so.  
  
There was a moment of quiet, and then…  
  
“Thanks,” murmured Connor.  
  
“For what?”  
  
“For not giving up on me.”  
  
Now it was Danny’s turn to tighten his grip a little. “As if I would.”  
  
“I know it hasn’t been easy, and I’m sorry.”  
  
“Hey, you’ve got nothing to apologise for.”  
  
“Well, I’m sorry anyway.”  
  
Danny tutted, but let the matter lie. He suspected that Connor still had some things to sort through in his head, even if he hadn’t realised it himself yet. And he knew there were likely to be some ups and downs still in their future.  
  
But right now, he had Connor in his arms, they were together, and that was all that mattered.


End file.
